Co-Parenting
by Fiery Wings
Summary: Childhood Friends Shizuo and Izaya go through a lot in their friendship. Their latest challenge being parenting Izaya's two sisters.
1. Chapter 1

**They were seven years old when they became friends**

They met in Elementary school. A simple "Wanna play?" from Shizuo and a simple nod from Izaya was all that was needed to start off their friendship.

Shizuo was a charming little kid. He was talkative and talked very animatedly. He had no subtlety and would always get caught by the teacher. He was good in his studies and was terrible at art.

Izaya on the other hand, was an almost opposite. He was quiet, shy, someone who never got caught by the teacher. He was exceptionally well read, for his age, and very skilled with crayons.

Yet Izaya and Shizuo were also quiet similar. They loved causing mischief. It was always Izaya's plan and Shizuo's execution. They loved reading. Izaya would pick the topic and both would silently read. They were very competitive on the playground, always trying to win against the other.

They were always together. As long as they were on school grounds, they were somehow always together.

But away from the school, the reality was different. Shizuo, the ever famous, talkative kid of his elementary school had no troubles making friends. Almost every day he had people he would go and play with, invite over to his home, share snacks with, so on and so forth. The Heiwajima parents knew all of his friends given the time he spent talking about all of them and playing with them.

All but Izaya Orihara.

For the longest time Shizuo's mom thought that Izaya Orihara was an imaginary friend that her son had made up. Why he would need one while he had so many friends and why he decided to give him such a complex name was something she didn't understand but given that her oldest was but a mere child, she didn't quiet dwell on it either.

Not until one parent teacher meeting.

It wasn't even a special parent teacher meeting. No, it was the normal twice a year thing that happened all the time. The reports were also normal.

"Shizuo does good in his studies"

"He's very friendly"

"He's a good kid"

"Though really, all that mischief that he and Izaya get into, I swear, such energetic children"

The last statement spoken in a fond manner was not what caught her attention. It was the specific name that the teacher had mentioned that Mrs Heiwajima couldn't help but ask

"Izaya?"

"Your son's best friend. They've been the cause of almost all of the mishaps that have happened till now. But they're good kids. They always own up and even apologize if something goes wrong."

"Oh.." Mrs. Heiwajima was dumbfounded but she corrected herself soon enough

"Well I must say, even though I've heard a lot about him, I've never actually met the young man. Are his parents here? I would love to get acquainted"

The teachers face fell

"Oh, no they aren't here"

Mrs. Heiwajima wouldn't have bothered had it not been for the overt change in the teachers behaviour. Since it was suspicious, she decided to pry

"They haven't come? But surely this isn't something you can miss"

"Well, you see…" the teacher, nice woman that she was still worried about Izaya. Because of that she didn't mind telling things to Mrs. Heiwajima. After all it was expected that she already knew, given the depth of friendship between Izaya and Shizuo

"…Izaya's parent don't live here. They both work abroad and he has relatives take care of him"

The way the sentence was structured, with the explicit use of the word relatives and Mrs Heiwajima understood. Either Izaya was some kind of charity case or his parents were involved in illegal activities. Both of which were bad case scenarios.

"It's okay" she told the teacher and went away

The first thing she did when she reached home was to sit down with Shizuo and explain to him why he couldn't be friends with Izaya anymore. It took a lot of talking, a lot of Shizuo protesting against his mother but eventually he relented.

**They were eight years old when Shizuo unilaterally broke off their friendship**

Izaya was upset. And he was upset for days. He tried to talk to Shizuo who even though he felt bad for Izaya, told him that he wouldn't go against what his parents wanted. Izaya's sadness turned into anger which took the form of elaborate pranks against Shizuo.

Shizuo didn't like the way Izaya had started behaving. That ended up reinforcing the idea that his mother was right all along and that Izaya's company really wasn't a good one.

The fights increased. Multiple episodes led to either one or both of them crying or getting violent. Both their grades started dropping. Shizuo was counselled repeatedly, again and again by his mother. She helped him get over Izaya, start socializing again, make lots of new friends again.

Shizuo got better. His grades improved. His health improved. He made a lot of new friends.

Izaya's care takers couldn't really care. His parents didn't bother either. So Izaya started spending more and more time in the public library. He read anything he could find, even books that he couldn't really understand. He learned all that he could. Basic cooking, basic magic tricks, how to say basic phrases in Russian, then Italian, then English. He read about history, about mythology, about the science, about the religion.

He distanced himself from everybody in school. He stopped speaking, stopped pranking, stopped paying attention.

His grades improved and he topped his class.

He ignored it and spent more time in the library.

**Shizuo was nine when he lifted an entire fridge**

It was during summer holidays so no one other than his family knew. 'It's okay' they told him. 'It will never happen again'

But it did. It happened again. It kept happening again.

Shizuo got irritated. He got upset. Once school started, he got worse and worse. His friends abandoned him. His Peers feared him and he hated himself.

He threw a table and broke his neck. Lying in the hospital bed he cursed himself. He hated himself and what a burden he was. What a monster he was. That's what he had started to think of himself now. It was what others called him anyway. He was a monster.

He was bought out from his musings when a bouquet of flowers was delivered to his hospital room. A simple bouquet of all white flowers. Shizuo didn't know what the flowers were and neither did he much care for them. But there was a note attached

'Take care Shizu-Chan! Get well soon, kay?'

Shizuo cried that night.

**They were in the first year of middle school when they had somewhat stabilized their newly rekindled friendship. **

They had been working towards this tentative friendship for almost a year now. There were times when Shizuo messed up and hurt Izaya. He hated himself even more for that but there were times when Izaya successfully dodged Shizuo and his attacks.

A year long training in knife skills and close combat martial arts, along with picking daily fights with Shizuo had made Izaya quiet the formidable opponent. Yet it only served to strengthen his friendship with Shizuo. Slowly and steadily Shizuo started to believe that Izaya was his equal. Someone he could go all out on who would still not leave his side.

Understandably, the Heiwajima family was kept in the dark regarding this new development. Everyone including Kasuka, who was otherwise Shizuo's confidant and support.

Shizuo had just gotten Izaya back. They had slowly and steadily established a friendship that they could work with. Shizuo knew his mother was afraid but he did not want to risk losing Izaya again.

**They were 15 when the dynamics of their relationship changed**

"Izaya" Shizuo came running through the rain. Izaya had called him mere minutes ago asking to meet him at the park near his house.

Shizuo had grumpily replied with "It's raining Izaya" to which Izaya had promptly cut the call.

"What is it?" Shizuo grumpily asked Izaya who was sitting on the swings completely drenched. Even if Shizuo offered the umbrella he was carrying, it would be useless

A few minutes of silence stretched between them so Shizuo took the swing beside Izaya and listened to the rain for a while.

"My parents came back" Izaya said

Izaya had already told Shizuo about his situation. His parents worked in MNCs. They weren't involved with the Yakuza and they had left Izaya with the best nannies possible. Izaya had always defended them.

Shizuo smiled

"For good? They staying? When did they come back?"

Izaya's silence made Shizuo's nervous. The smile fell off his face

"They...didn't stay?"

Izaya nodded

"So…" Shizuo had no idea what to say

"I have sisters" Izaya whispered and Shizuo was barely able to make it out

"I'm sorry, did you just say you have sisters?"

Izaya nodded

"Sisters? As in more than one?"

"Twins"

"And how old are they?"

"Three"

"And you found this out…"

"Today"

"Izaya what the hell?!" he knew it was wrong to shout at Izaya but he was really confusing him at the moment.

"Okay first of all, come home. Let's get you dry and then we can talk" Shizuo offered

"No"

Izaya, for however long they had known each other, had always refused to associate himself with the rest of the Heiwajima family. Shizuo thought he was still bitter about elementary school but Izaya neither confirmed nor denied him.

"Okay let's go to your place and warm you up and then you can talk to me"

"No"

"Izaya…come on"

"My sisters are there"

"wait what?"

"My sisters are home"

"But your parents aren't?"

Izaya shook his head

"So wait, your parents left your 3 year old sisters here and…left?"

"They have work"

Shizuo groaned. No matter the situation Izaya always favored his parents. They have work, they're earning money, They give me enough. It was stupid to fight with Izaya cause he simple refused to listen to anything that put his parents in a bad light.

"Okay so wait, your sisters are home and they're going to, what, stay with you now?"

Izaya nodded

"Please tell me you didn't leave them alone in the house"

"No I appointed a nanny. She's trusted. Someone I know. Also did background check on her"

And this was another thing. Every now and then Izaya would say something that made Shizuo suspicious of him. Izaya was involved in something but all he ever did was drop hints to Shizuo. Never said a word when asked directly.

"Okay so what do we do now?" Shizuo asked although it was more of a rhetorical question then anything else. But to his surprise Izaya answered

"I…want to take care of them"

Shizuo smiled

"We'll do that"

"But …how?"

For the first time in that conversation Izaya looked at Shizuo. The fear, the confusion was present on his face and Shizuo had the urge to pull him in a hug. He refrained from it and instead directed his thoughts towards Izaya's question.

"Well, there's a lot when it comes to three year olds. Firstly are you going to put them in day care?"

"Raira Day care. I'll drop them. The nanny will pick them up and take care of them until I'm in school. I have cameras in my house so if something unwanted happens, I would know."

Shizuo wanted to point out that having cameras inside someone's home wasn't normal but then again Izaya's definition of normal had always been a little skewed. It was for this reason that he had a place in Izaya's world at all.

"Okay but...what about food?"

"I can cook"

"What about entertainment then?"

"They're two of them Shizu-Chan, I'm sure they can keep each other entertained."

"Seems like you have it pretty figured out. So why are you sulking in the rain?"

Izaya went quiet again. Shizuo waited for him to open up

"What if…I'm not good enough?"

"You'll be fine"

"You don't know that"

"You'll be fine, Izaya. And I'll be with you. So if anything happens we'll take care of it together."

Izaya didn't reply. But it was fine.


	2. Chapter 2

Izaya was frantic for the next few days. Running around, doing errands. There were so many things he had to do within the week. Everything from making sure the kids had their vaccine records to buying them more toys and arranging their clothes. He was a mess but surprisingly the girls had immediately taken a liking to him.

"It's weird" he told Shinra when they were eating lunch on the roof "They are very independent for their age. They didn't even cry when I left them at the day care."

Due to Izaya and Shizuo's destructive friendship the school had decided to shuffle the students into different classrooms near the end of their elementary school. It was then that he had met Shinra. Now in Middle school, he and Shinra were still classmates and Shizuo was in a different class.

It was one of the rules of Raira which was apparently so important that it had been included in their handbook

'Izaya Orihara and Shizuo Heiwajima must never be put in the same class together'

"Weren't you too?" Shinra says to which Izaya just shrugged.

"You know what that makes you Izaya?" Shinra said after a moment of silence

"What?" Izaya asks not following the flow of conversation

"A teen parent" Shinra cracks up laughing.

It took a lot longer for Shizuo to meet Izaya's sisters. Anytime He offered to go with Izaya to his sister's play school he would be met with a blank stare and the deadpan delivery of

"You're supposed to meet up with Kasuka-kun aren't you?"

Every single time this happened, Shizuo was left wondering if Izaya really hated his family or of he was being obnoxious just to piss Shizuo off. But when Kasuka was involved, he couldn't really rebuke.

But one weekend he finally decided he had had enough of the excuses. He decided he was going to meet Izaya's sisters regardless. The fact that it was the weekend before exams also helped his case. Izaya wouldn't throw him out when he needed help with studies. Izaya did usually help him study so he believed he was safe.

Izaya however, was clearly not expecting him. The bewildered look on his face almost cracked Shizuo up but he forced himself to remain calm. Lest Izaya shut the door on his face.

"What are you doing here, Shizu-Chan?"

Shizuo innocently held up his math book

"Study with me?"

"You could have called"

"I'll do that next time"

Izaya sighed, then let him in. Inside he found two, young girls, sitting on the sofa in front of the TV. One of them noticed him and nudged the other. Two pairs of reddish brown eyes were staring at him inquisitively and it immediately reminded him of Izaya when he was young.

"They look like you" He practically cooed

"We are siblings" Izaya snorted

"Who's that?" Mairu asked in her child like excitement

"Right." Izaya said, then pulled Shizuo so they were closer to the sofa

"Girls, this is my friend, Shizuo Heiwajima. And Shizu-Chan these are my little monsters, Mairu and Kururi" he gestured towards them

"Iza-nii's friends?" Mairu asked

"Shizu-nii" Kururi spoke up

"Shizu-nii!" Mairu followed "Are you here to play?"

"Nope. He's here to study" Izaya answered him. "So we'll be in my room for a while, okay"

Mairu and Kururi both nodded and Izaya took Shizuo to his room.

"They're adorable!" Shizuo said

"I take it, you were here to meet them" Izaya said, and Shizuo wasn't surprised at how easily he could read him.

"Umm..yeah" he sheepishly agreed

"Well then you should stay for dinner, but for now, let's focus on studying"

"Stop laughing damn it!" Shizuo screamed into his phone but from the other side Izaya kept laughing. Normally this would anger Shizuo enough to break his phone but it had been so long since he heard heartfelt laughter from Izaya, that he couldn't help but smile in fond remembrance.

"I just-can't believe it" Izaya was barely able to form a full sentence before he gave up and started laughing again.

The incident which had caused Izaya to go full on chocking in laughter was one that had just transpired in the Heiwajima household. More specifically during dinner time.

Shizuo, in light of new events had oh so innocently asked his mom how to take care of small children. His parents were completely shocked with the question but he really didn't understand why. It was only when they started asking him questions about having a girlfriend and things like that, that he understood the huge misunderstanding that had just occurred.

Completely red in the face, with an indignant shout he had left the dinner table. Izaya's call at that time had been a complete coincidence and soon enough Shizuo found himself retelling the incident to him.

"Aww Shizu-Chan did you get the safe sex talk yet?" Izaya teased

"Don't even joke about that"

"You haven't? Too bad. What if Shizu-Chan ends up getting someone pregnant?"

"Oh yeah? Like you know!" he countered

"Well you see Shizu-Chan when two people really like each other…"Izaya started

"Yeah? What next Izaya?" Shizuo knew Izaya well enough to tease him.

"Well they have sex" Izaya said, never one to back down from an obvious challenge

"Oh yeah? And how does that work?" Shizuo asked

Izaya cut the line before he could hear Shizuo's laughter from the other end.


	3. Chapter 3

Mairu and Kururi had immediately opened up to Shizuo. Anytime he came around, they insisted that he play with them first, especially seeing as how he could lift them both at the same time. The kids Climbed on him, crawled on him, made him take part in their stuff toy fight and also made him make a fort with them using pillows and cardboards.

Izaya loved it. The more time they spent with Shizuo, the less they pestered him. He could spend that time cooking or cleaning or working. He had started working as a private detective, or like he liked to call himself, an informant. He was going to tell Shizuo eventually but until then, this was enough.

"So I really wanted to ask you but when did you get glasses?" Shizuo asked. He had just finished reading a very long and weird story to Mairu and Kururi and they were now asleep. It was a testament to their friendship that he wasn't even weirded out by the fact that Izaya owned the weirdest collection of storybooks.

"Oh, they're glass slabs. It's a defence against Mairu. I made them both believe that if they watch too much TV then they'll get glasses"

Shizuo chuckled

"Come here Shizu-Chan" Izaya said as he rummaged through his desk.

After a little looking around he found a different pair of glasses and moving closer to Shizuo, put them on his face.

"What the hell!" Shizuo shouted and Izaya laughed

"Those are the ones I showed Mairu. Power 4, it'll completely mess up your vision. Here try these now" he said then removed his own and gave them to Shizuo

Shizuo suspiciously put them on

"Oh you're right. These are just glass slabs"

"eh… Shizu-Chan looks good in glasses" Izaya said and Shizuo blushed

"You should wear glasses. Maybe people will pick less fights with you if you look more like a nerd"

"You're the one who looks like a nerd. Typing away on that laptop of yours" Shizuo handed back the glasses "What are you doing anyway?"

"Shouldn't you be going home now? Your mother will be worried"

The topic change was obvious. But it also meant that Izaya wanted him gone. So he said his goodbye and left.

* * *

Another day, another fight. It seemed to Shizuo like he had been getting into more fights than usual though he didn't know why. Not too long ago, it was only Izaya who he fought with and during that time, not a lot of people picked fights with him.

But since Izaya was now more involved with his sisters and his shady job (that he still hadn't told Shizuo about) they spend more time doing things like shopping and fighting over dinner rather than actually tearing the city. But on the flip side, there were now more and more gangs trying their luck with him.

He sighed as he made his way to Izaya's house. It was habit at this point. He went home with Kasuka after school then after changing out of his uniform, grabbed some books and went over to Izaya's. Izaya helped him study and he helped him entertain the girls. Some days he would stay for dinner but most days he would leave and go back home.

He hadn't told his parents about Izaya yet. And because of his slip up that one time, his mother now thought he had a girlfriend…or something like that. Not that they ever asked. Even if they did, he would deny it with all his might. Kasuka thankfully hadn't said or asked him anything.

He had tried to bring up Izaya once though. He had said that they were paired up in a history project. (they weren't. They weren't in the same class so there was no way they would be paired up for a project. But Izaya had helped him in projects before so it would be a believable lie). His mother had completely freaked out, saying that Izaya was dangerous and that he should stay away. All the reasons that she had given him in elementary school came back as one long lecture at the dinner table.

In a twisted turn of events everything that she was worried about (Izaya not having parental supervision, being a bad influence, getting involved with Yakuza etcetera) was now true and yet Shizuo desperately wanted Izaya by his side.

Because Izaya was the only one who hadn't changed. Who never ran away, who would come back after every fight to pick a new one. He was the only one who had completely accepted Shizuo as who he was and still liked him. Sure Shinra had accepted him too, but his adoration was of a doctor who was going to dissect a frog. Tom Sempai was also accepting of him, but his fear was clear in the distance he maintained from him.

As he reached Izaya's apartment and rang the bell, the door flew open and he was immediately tackled by two young girls. They had this weird thing when every time, he was at the door, they would charge towards him in an attempt to make him fall. But with his strength it never worked. He then had to carry the girls back inside, because he was strong and could carry two kids at once like they weighed nothing.

Today however, the girls backed off by themselves. Staring at him briefly, they ran inside towards Izaya and hid behind his table.

"What's wrong?" Izaya asked but didn't take his eyes away from his computer.

"Iza-Nii! Iza- Nii!" they kept chanting until he bent down to their level to talk to them.

"Wait Shizu-Chan what?" Shizuo heard from the other side of the table before Izaya's head poked out of it.

"Oh hey You're right! Shizu-Chan changed his hair colour" Izaya said, imitating the voice of a cartoon character that made Mairu and Kururi laugh before getting up and making his way towards Shizuo.

"Why Shizu-Chan are you planning to go audition like your brother?" he asked

"Um..no"

Izaya tilted his head but didn't say anything. His curiosity was like a cat.

"Umm Tom Sempai advised me to colour my hair. He said if I looked like a delinquent then maybe less people will pick a fight with me"

Izaya blinked once before he started laughing

"Oh Shizu-Chan, that's the worst logic I've ever heard" he said as he wiped his eyes of the tears that were forming due to excessive laughter.

"But I must say, blond suits you, in a weird way"

"Thanks" Shizuo smiled feeling a lot better about his decision.

"And so eventually man's suffering will go away. That's the idea. It's either that, or he falls into complete and utter despair and has a complete breakdown."

* * *

"Okay, Mr. Part time philosopher, what got you in a mood?" Shizuo asked. For the past half an hour Izaya had been talking about this new philosopher he started reading, whose ideas he really liked.

Izaya went silent

"Nothing" he whispered

"Hey, no! Come on, talk to me"

Izaya looked away. He always looked away when he wanted to say something difficult. If he didn't want to talk about things then he simply lied or in a roundabout way insulted the person who tried to talk to him. But when he wanted to talk, he would pause, he would look away and he would talk slowly. Like as if he was fearful of being judged for what he wanted to say. Shizuo knew all too well and so he waited for him to gather his thoughts and talk to him in his own time.

"So summer vacation is coming soon"

"Sure is, you planning something?"

"What are…you going to do?" Izaya asked slowly

"We're going to my grandparent's place for two weeks but after that I'm back in town. Kasuka got a summer modelling job that he wants to take up"

"Oh…okay"

"What about you?" Shizuo prodded

"Probably just take the girls somewhere"

"That's cool, Izaya. Send me pictures okay? And video call me. And tell me if you need anything. Oh and make sure to not eat so much ice-cream. Both you and Mairu are too susceptible to the cold-"

Izaya's laughter broke him out of his rambling.

"Does Nurse Shizu-chan have any more advice?" he asked still giggling

"Shut up"

Something, he felt was left unsaid between them. But the moment was gone and Izaya was back to his playful self so Shizuo let it go. He'll tell him eventually.


	4. Chapter 4

Coming back home felt great to Shizuo. He loved his grandparents and it was amazing visiting them but just like everyone else, they were also scared of him. Not only that but the fact that they lived in a small village also made it worse. Everyone in the village was scared of him and it did put a damper on things no matter how much he tried to pretend otherwise.

But being home was also a little boring. He didn't have much to do and he neither liked reading nor watching television. The only books he had read were the weird ones from Izaya's collection and those were usually when he was reading to the girls. Izaya's other books, the ones about philosophy and his other interests were far beyond his comprehension.

So for now Shizuo was doing the one thing he hadn't done in months. He was cleaning his room. Rearranging things every once in a while was a good thing. At the very least, it made the place look new. He should really suggest this to Izaya. Ask him to change a couple of things around the house.

Shizuo was in the middle of cleaning out his books when Kasuka knocked on his door.

"Hey! You're back early. How was the shoot?" Shizuo asked

"It was okay. Can I borrow your phone?"

"Yeah sure"

Kasuka took his phone and headed downstairs. Shizuo followed him though he was more interested in getting pudding from the kitchen.

"Hello? Izaya-san?"

Shizuo was shocked still when he heard Kasuka. At first he doubted himself but he decided to continue listening.

"Yes… It was at the shoot and they destroyed my phone…No, nothing of that-…yeah I did… Yes I did…Thank You, Izaya-san…yes?...yes…no but Nii-Chan knows…okay….alright"

"Kasuka?" Shizuo called out "What happened? And how do you know Izaya?"

"Oh. Izaya san told me not to tell you. But I had assumed it was because he was going to tell you directly"

"Are you involved in something? Do you need help?" Shizuo was getting flashbacks to Izaya's shady job. He was okay with IZaya doing it but there was no way his little brother was going to get involved.

"No. It's fine. Izaya san will fix it. I do need a new mobile though. Mine was destroyed."

"What do you mean destroyed? Kasuka what's going on?"

"Izaya san told me not to tell"

Already brimming with anger, Shizuo took the phone from Kasuka and immediately called Izaya

"What the hell are you dragging my brother in, you damn flea?" He shouted into the phone

"And hello to you too Shizu-Chan" Izaya dryly replied

"Just answer the damn question you louse!"

"No, I don't think I will"

"Izaya I swear to god if you're dragging Kasuka into something-"

"I'm not"

"-I will personally kill you until you're more dead than dead"

"Wow Shizu-Chan I'm so scared" he sarcastically remarked

"you should be you damn flea"

In his rage he had no idea when he had left the house and made his way to Izaya's. But soon enough he was there and was ringing his doorbell. Normally when he was this angry he would just break down the door, but he was so used to coming here and ringing the doorbell that it didn't occur to him that he could just break the door. Later on he would be thankful for not breaking the door since it would save him a lot of complaining from Izaya.

Izaya opened the door, phone still in hand and stilled like he wasn't expecting Shizuo to come here. Shizuo however was fully prepared to see Izaya's idiotic face as he pulled him by the collar and held him against the now closed front door.

"What do you want with Kasuka?" Shizuo growled

"Well first of all, I'd like it if you stop making a scene in front of my house"

Shizuo pushed him further into the door and they both heard the slight crack of the wood.

"Shizu-chan" he sighed "even if I were to tell you, you're too angry for an explanation right now" Izaya sighed when Shizuo finally let go. A moment later he opened the door and let Shizuo in.

"I'll make tea. Calm down and we'll talk"

Saying so Izaya went straight to the kitchen. Shizuo sat on his sofa. There was an open book in front of him on the table with Izaya's mobile next to it. Clearly he had been reading. The girls weren't around so he assumed they would be asleep. He better be quiet. Kururi was quite the storm if she woke up grumpy.

By the time Izaya finished and bought the tea, Shizuo had visibly calmed down. He waited till Izaya had taken his first sip to ask him questions.

"What are you involving Kasuka in?"

"Honestly, Nothing. In fact I'm helping him."

"Helping him with what?"

Izaya sighed

"Shizu-Chan who do fight the most with?"

"You, but occasionally a lot of different gangs and wanna be gangs"

"Right. And who do you think gets targeted when you beat these punks to a pulp?"

"You don't mean…wait, Kasuka?"

Izaya nods

"Honestly I just met him on the street once when Purple Squares were trying to beat him up. This happens all the time but more so in school where he does get bullied. So I told him I'll take care of it and that's what I've been doing. Keeping the gangs away, keeping the bullies away" Izaya took another sip then stopped talking.

"But why? You should have told me, Izaya. It should be me dealing with this!"

"Can you?"

"Excuse me?"

"Can you Shizu-Chan? Deal with things without feeling guity about it? Can you look at situations and not blame yourself for it? Can you?"

Shizuo looked away. There was no way he could do that. Ofcourse not. How could he not blame himself when it was his fault. He can't control his power or his anger but it doesn't relieve him of the blame.

"Kasuka-kun knows. He understands. That's why we never told you"

"And for how long has this been happening?"

"a while" Izaya vaguely replied

"Just tell me" Shizuo sighed. He was already feeling the guilt. He was feeling defeated honestly.

"I told you. It's only been a while"

Shizuo dragged his hand through his hair, then just covered his face with both of his hands. If Izaya wasn't telling him then he couldn't make him. Maybe he could talk to Kasuka. It was always easier to talk to Kasuka.

"Okay" he said "Okay then I'll just leave"

"Finish your tea"

So he did

Then he left

* * *

"So uhh…I think I owe you an apology" he said

"No, I don't think you do" Izaya answered from the other side of the line

"No I mean, I talked to Kasuka"

"That's great Shizu-Chan." He sarcastically replied

"So I just wanted to apologize"

"We've been over this Shizu-Chan. I don't need your apology. I don't care for it. Now if that's the only reason you called me, then I should take my leave"

"No, wait!"

…

"Izaya?"

"I'm listening"

"Yeah. So umm… are you free sometime?"

Izaya sighed from the other side

"What do you want from me? I have a job you know"

"Yes. A job you never told me about"

"A job none the less. Now what do you want"

"Let's go somewhere. Anywhere. You, me and the girls. Maybe to a movie, it'll be fun"

There was a brief pause where Izaya didn't say anything

"Izaya? Still there?"

"Yes. The girls, they aren't here"

"What do you mean? Where are they?"

"Well they're in London"

"What? Why?"

"They are on vacation Shizu-Chan. They're with my parents travelling London"

"And why are you here?"

"Reasons"

"What reasons?"

"Reasons Shizu-Chan. Reasons"

"Izaya…"

"Look I don't want to talk about it. If you want to watch a movie we can do it at home. Or if you want to wait for the girls, they'll be back in two weeks"

There was silence from both sides for a while. After a moment Shizuo hesitantly decided to say something but the Izaya had already cut the line. He sighed then threw his phone on the bed. He was worried about Izaya but at the same time, there wasn't a lot he could do without making Izaya angry.

He had to wait for Izaya to come speak to him. He couldn't chase him down. It was funny that when they fight it's destructive as hell but when they need to communicate they both suck at it. Izaya more so than Shizuo. And out of the both of them, Izaya is the more eloquent one.

Shizuo walked to his wardrobe and started picking out his clothes

Might as well take him up on that movie offer

"You said we could watch a movie at your place"

"I didn't mean today. I didn't say right now"

"Too bad cause I'm already here"

"Shizu-Chan I have work"

Izaya whined but let him in anyway.

"Which movie did you bring?" he asked

"I got that English movie you were talking about"

"But I've already seen it"

"Great watch it again with me"

Izaya rolled his eyes but smiled anyway.

"Fine. Put it up, I'll get some tea. Your protozoan brain wouldn't be able to keep up with Inception anyway"

"We'll see about that"


	5. Chapter 5

They were in high school now and school had already started. Shizuo saw more of Izaya every day in school but he never got invited to his home again. Izaya was quieter, more focused on his studies. He went out to the library more and more often and whenever Shizuo called him, he was always busy with his job.

"Are you ever going to tell me about your job?" Shizuo had cornered him one day during lunch.

Izaya sighed "Can we not"

"Has he told you guys?" he asked Shinra and Kadota. They were all used to having lunch together from time to time. Kadota said no immediately but Shinra was suspiciously quiet

"You told Shinra?" Shizuo angrily asked him

"I'm going home"

"What about classes?" Shinra called out but Izaya simply waved him off and left.

"Is it just me or does he look really tired these days?" Kadota asked

"Okay Shinra, what do you know?" Shizuo demanded

"Normally I wouldn't tell anyone but I know you'll kill me if I don't tell you" Shinra said with a creepy smile on his face "Well you see, Izaya is working with the Yakuza"

"What?!" Shizuo gasped "Shinra, what?!" was all he could say.

"I'm actually surprised you didn't know. Half the city knows at this point."

"Yes but.." why didn't he tell me?

Shizuo had his suspicions. Had had them for quite a while. And Shinra was right, people tended to talk and even if he didn't know rumours, Tom Sempai definitely did. But he had tied to tell Izaya had he would be accepting of his job no matter what. He had tried to subtly tell him that he knew but Izaya would brush him off with such ease that he was sure that he wanted to keep it a secret.

But apparently he only wanted to keep it from him.

Izaya stopped talking to him after that. Shizuo could only assume it was because now he knew about Izaya's secret. There was no way that Shinra didn't tell Izaya that he told Shizuo. A day went by. Then another. Then a whole week but Izaya remained quiet.

It was like Izaya disappeared from the face of the earth. But that was not true. Clearly he still talked with Shinra. Because Shinra still bought him up in conversations from time to time. One time, he even caught Kasuka talking to him. It was clearly intended to be kept from their parents. So great, now they were both keeping the same secret and not even talking to each other about it.

He had lost Izaya once. He had lost Izaya twice.

The first time Izaya came back to him, he did so by sending him flowers. The second time Izaya came back to him, he did so by breaking into his room in the middle of a storm.

It was in the evening but the storm was so bad that it looked like it was the middle of the night. Izaya broke into his room, came tumbling in and fell straight on the bad. Shizuo who was working on his homework on his table was shocked into silence.

"Izaya?" he tentatively called out when it looked like he was not going to talk. A falsh of lightning answered him. Shizuo stood up and sat on the bed next to Izaya who was hiding his face with his arms.

"Izaya?" he called again. And when Izaya finally removed his hands, roaring thunder overpowered the choking sobs from Izaya.

"Hey! Shit, you're crying? Izaya what happened?" he asked with urgency this time.

"you were right" he sobbed "You were always right"

"What do you mean?"

"Nobody loves me, Shizu-chan" he sobbed "Nobody loves me"

He cried and cried and cried some more but he didn't scream, didn't thrash around. Eventually he just cried himself to sleep. Shizuo held him and pet his head but he let him cried. Izaya, he realised, was a silent crier. When was the last time he had really let it all out like that? Shizuo would wait until he woke up.

A few hours later, Shizuo finally left Izaya's side. He would just go down, grab some dinner and then go straight back to Izaya. He told his parents some convincing lie about homework and went straight into his room with enough food to feed two people.

But when he entered it, the room was empty. Izaya was gone.

He just hoped, he hadn't lost Izaya for a third time.

Next day, Izaya did not avoid him. He met him in school, then snuck him out of class with the lure of a fight. He dragged Shizuo to the roof top and they both stayed there a while.

Shizuo wanted to ask but he also he knew that he needed to give him time. Time and space. That was the key with Izaya right? Don't push for answers.

"I'm sorry about yesterday" Izaya finally said

"Tell me what happened Izaya"

"Nothing I just had a moment of weakness"

"I've never seen you like that. Izaya I was so scared. Please tell me what happened? Is this about your job? Is that why you can't tell me? Because you work for the yakuza?"

"It's not my job, it's my…" he broke off with an odd look on his face "It's my sisters" he finally said

"What happened to them?"

"They are going to stay in London, with my parents"

"Izaya?" was all he could say. There was so much to ask him but all he could say was his name.

"So my parents.." this was it. He was finally opening himself up to Shizuo "…decided that they wanted to keep the twins with them. They wanted to watch them grow up and they did not want that…with me"

His voice broke at the end of it.

"I don't know what to do Shizu-Chan. I don't know what to feel"

"Whatever you feel Izaya, it's valid. It's alright. Tell me everything. Tell me everything you feel right now. Even if you are confused as heck. Just talk to me"

So he did. They spent the next tow hours with Izaya just opening his heart out to Shizuo. He told him about his feelings of abandonment. Of how, he is no longer sure if his parents even love him or that if they ever loved him in the first place. He talks about his sisters and how he's so attached it's like there might be a hole in his heart because he misses them that much.

And he talked, and he talked. Well into lunch and beyond that. He cried a bit more and Shizuo hugged him and let him cry on his shoulders.

Izaya changes after that. Or maybe he had already changed before, but that Shizuo was noticing it just now. But few things were clearly different. He was more spaced out for one. Always with a faraway look on his face. He was here but he was not here. Soon enough the way he talked had also changed. While before it was obvious when he used to brag and when he used to tease, he had now started making more and more self-depreciating jokes. And Shizuo had no way of knowing if he was serious or not.

Then one fine day, whatever Izaya had planned had come to fruition. Shizuo knew this because he ambushed him one day after school.

"I'm leaving" he had said

"What?" he should have asked when or what but in his confused state all he could say was what

"London, Shizu-Chan. I'll be back in one or two weeks"

"Is this about your sisters?"

"It is about my whole family. Wait for me?"

He had asked with such earnest. What else could he do but agree. Yet he was still on edge. For an entire week he was on edge. Then when Izaya didn't return, he got more worried. He didn't really have a way to communicate with Izaya and the lack of knowledge was driving him crazy. His temper had its worst week with him uprooting a tree and causing significant fear.

But just as he left without a warning, he came back without a warning. He didn't even tell Shizuo that he was coming back. Just one fine day texted him to come over and then didn't even reply to any of his messages or calls.

So Shizuo rushed over, only to be immediately ambushed but two young girls

"Mairu! Kururi!" he exclaimed with surprise. "You guys are back"

"Yes!" Kururi smiled happily

"Nii-Chan bought us back. It's so nice to be here again. London was so boring, people over there don't even speak Japanese" Mairu said

"Okay, okay. Wow! That's great! But where is Izaya?"

"I'm in the kitchen" he called from inside

"Do you need help?" Shizuo asked back

"Can you keep the girls company? I'll finish up here"

And just like that, it seemed they went back to their old routine. Shizuo played with the twins, while Izaya prepared food. Then they all ate together and Izaya put them to bed afterwards.

"God! I missed them so much!" Shizuo said when he sunk into the sofa. Beside him, Izaya chuckled.

"Yes,I know"

"So what happened?" Shizuo asked him "Tell me everything Izaya"

Izaya remained quiet

Gently Shizuo took his hand "Please, Izaya, Please tell me what happened"

"Well, Our Mom and Dad decided they wanted to keep the twins with them after all. They said they can take care of kids now that they are in a better financial position. They had sent the girls over because they were still in the middle of settling down and when they were done, they immediately called Mairu and Kururi back."

"And you?"

"I was clearly not included"

And for the first time in his life Izaya understood. Maybe his parents really did feel no responsibility towards him. Maybe they felt no love towards him either. That realisation had shaken him to his core and in his vulnerable state he had gone to Shizuo and cried in his bed.

"And I would have let it go, really. I would have been fine with it, if they treated them nicely. If they loved them and adored them and pampered them nicely. I would have let it go. But that didn't happen. Kururi called me crying and screaming saying she wanted to go back. Mom called me complaining about how badly behaved the girls are even though they didn't even try to get to know them. Mairu acted out in anger and they hit her. That's when I decided I was done"

"So you what? Went to London and bought them back?"

"Nope. I went to London and won custody rights"

"You took them to court?" Shizuo asked bewildered. Izaya laughed and nodded.

"I did and I won"

"But..How?!"

Izaya looked away. A hint of fear was now in his eyes. But Shizuo just held his hand tighter, caressed it a bit more. He needed Izaya to feel safe.

"My job gives me connections to people"

"Right you work for the Yakuza" Shinra had already told him that much

"I don't work for the Yakuza Shizu-Chan! I work freelance. The Yakuza are one of my clients" Izaya huffed

"You work freelance in the sense?"

"I primarily work as a private investigator. You need information about someone, I can dig it out for you. I sometimes work for the Yakuza to dig up dirt on some people. So for someone who's job is to dig dirt on people, you realise how easy it would be take on two neglectful parents, right?"

"right. Huh"

"You don't seem surprised Shizu-Chan"

"No, I'm not surprised but I just remember something. Back in Elementary school, Mom had told me that you would definitely grow up to work with the Yakuza so I should never be involved with you"

"Guess your mom was right them" Izaya pulled his hand away

"Right about you but wrong about me"

"What do you mean?"

"You're still working for the Yakuza but I'm still going to be involved with you"

"Invovled with me, huh?" Izaya smirked with one eyebrow slightly raised

"I mean, I am co parenting two young girls with you. I think it's safe to say we are a little involved" Shizuo smiled

"So then Shizu-Chan wanna make this official?" Izaya asked

"Definitely!" Shizuo answered before moving in to kiss Izaya.


End file.
